Cracker-cabinet



. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. F. G. AG'KER.

GRAGKEB. CABINET.

L e d 0 M 0 N Patented-Apr. 5, 1892.

III

ATTORNEY.

n mun sans no., mum-uma., msnmzrrou, n. c.

UNITED STATES FRANK C. AOKER, OF IONIA, MICHIGAN:

cRAcKER-CABINET'.

,SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,020, dated April5, 1892.

Application tiled June 8,1891. Serial No. 395,601. (No model.) 4

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, FRANK C. ACKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ionia, in the countyof Ionia and State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cracker-Cabinets; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in devices for storing, preserving,and handling crackers and other like articles 5 and its object is toprovide a device for such purposes hav ing certain new and usefulfeatures hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed ontin the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a device embodying my invention,with'a part broken away to show the construction; Fig. 2, a verticalsection of the same on the line .r of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 a horizontalsection of the same on the line 'y y.

Like letters refer to like parts in each of the figures.

A represents a case or box, of suitable form,

having an overhanging front portion A', a'

forwardly-inclined top having doorsV B and B' opening into A and A',respectively, and forwardly-inclined back portions U and T. -In thelower part of A is arranged, in an opening at one side, a removablescoop H, beneath which is a lateral extension H' of A' to retain such ofthe contents of the same as may follow the scoop when withdrawn, and atthe other side thereof is a semi-cylindrical pocket D, one-half of thebottom of which consists of a quadrantal valve E, of slightly-lessradius than the stationary part of said bottom, over which stationarypart it is arranged to move by being pivoted to a shaft F', journaled inthe axis of said pocket, which shaft is provided with a crank F foropening the valve E and a spring F" for closing the same.

C is a glass plate inserted in the front of A', through which thecontents may be observed, and G is a spout into which the valve E opensto discharge the contents of A.

Within the case A is the grated floor M, hinged at its front edge to thefront of the and thence downward to near the bottom and at the rear ofthe same, and are wound upon a roll P', having a crank S to turn it, andprovided with a ratchet Q and pawl R to retain it in position. Saidstraps have attached a series of transverse parallel bars N, which,together with M, constitute a movable grated bottom to secure thecrackers and suspend them within A.

J is a lamp or other suitable heater having its chimney J' surrounded bya chamber K, within which said chimney connects to ahot-air pipe L,which extends horizontally across the interior of A beneath the floor M,and thence returned to K, where it is extended upward at L' into theopen air. A steam-coil or any other suitable heater may be substitutedfor this latter device when convenient.

I is a door opening into the lower part of A to remove the dust andparticles that pass through said bottom.

The operation of my device is as follows: The straps O are first unwoundfrom P', allowing the rear of the grated floor to descend to the bottomof the case A. The stock of crackers can then be poured in through thedoor B, and as the straps P' are from time to time wound upon the roll Pthe bottom M and the slats N rise and discharge said crackers into A',whence they are removed either by the scoop H or valve E, as mostconvenient, any residue after weighing being returned by the door B. Inthe meantime the smaller particles and flour-dust pass through thebottom M and slats N and fall to the bottom, whence they may be removedby the door I, the inclined back reducing the area of the bottom andbringing them nearer the front. The glass C serves to display the goods,and the heater-pipe L maintains their condition of dryness, thuspreserving them in good order for use. v

What I claim is- 1. In a `cracker-cabinet, a closed chamber having aperforated and vertically-movable bottom, a heater beneath the same, anadjacent chamber into which the crackers are discharged, and mechanismfor removing said crackers from the latter chamber, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a cracker-cabinet, a storage-chamber having an opening in one sideand a grated bottom hinged at one side thereof and beneath saidopening-straps attached to the movable side of said bottom, havingparallel transverse slats attached, and a roll upon which said strapsare Wound, said roll having a crank and a ratchet-Wheel and pawl,snbstantially as described.

3. In a cracker-cabinet, a closed chamber having a perforated :andvertically-movable bottom, a heater beneath the same, an adjacentchamber having a semi-cylindrical bottoni land a discharge-opening inthe same,and

a quadrantal valve closing said opening, substantially as described.

4. In a cracker-cabinet, a storage-chamber having a grated bottompivoted at one side and vertically movable at the other, a heaterbeneath the same, a lchamber into which the crackers are discharged assaid bottom rises, said chamber havin g a semi-cylindrical pocketprovided with a segmental valve and a discharge-spout and also having alaterally-prolonged floor, a lateral opening, and a scoop adapted toclose said opening and to be removed therefrom, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK C. ACKER. lVitn esses:

F. A. STIvnN, LUTHER V. MoULToN.

